4.

10 Using Resources

Humans use the Earth’s resources to provide warmth,

shelter, food and transport. Chemistry plays an important role in improving
agricultural and industrial processes to provide new
products and in sustainable development, which is
Natural resources, supplemented by agriculture, provide development that meets the needs of current
food, timber, clothing and fuels. generations without compromising the ability of
Finite resources from the Earth, oceans and atmosphere future generations to meet their own needs.
are processed to provide energy and materials.

Water

Water of the correct quality is essential for life. For Water that is safe to drink is called potable water. Potable
humans, drinking water should have sufficiently low water is not pure water in the chemical sense because it
levels of dissolved salts and microbes contains dissolved solid substances.
Pure water would contain no dissolved solids.
The methods used to produce potable water depend
on available supplies of water and local conditions.
Sterilising agents
Turning fresh water into drinking water Sterilising agents used for potable water include
In the UK, rain provides water with low levels of dissolved chlorine, ozone or ultra-violet light.
substances (fresh water) that collects in the ground and in • Chlorine is a toxic gas so the amount added
lakes and rivers and most potable water is produced by: to water has to be carefully monitored.
1. choosing an appropriate source of fresh water • Using ultraviolet light to kill microbes avoids
2. passing the water through filter beds to remove any adding chemicals to the water but is more
solids expensive.
3. sterilising to kill microbes with chlorine, ozone or
ultra-violet light

Turning sea water into drinking water thermometer

If supplies of fresh water are limited, desalination of salty
water or sea water may be required. Desalination can be done
by distillation or by processes that use membranes such as
reverse osmosis. These processes require large amounts of Liebig condenser
energy.

Reverse osmosis
Sea water is passed through a membrane that only allows
through the water molecules. It needs high pressure to push
the water through the membrane. The high pressure requires Water
out
a lot of energy to produce.
Round
bottomed Water in
flask
Required practical: Determining mass of dissolved Heat
solids in a sample of water
Method: Distillation has high energy costs because it
1. weigh container. requires heat to boil the water
2. measure volume (100 cm3) of water using a
measuring cylinder
3. pour water into container.
4. heat and evaporate water until dry.
5. weigh container and remaining solids.
6. determine mass of dissolved solids

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Waste water treatment
 Urban lifestyles and industrial processes produce large Sewage treatment includes the following
amounts of waste water that require treatment before stages:
being released into the environment. 1. screening and grit removal
 Sewage and agricultural waste water require removal 2. sedimentation to produce sewage sludge
of organic matter and harmful microbes. and effluent
 Industrial waste water may require removal of organic 3. anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge
matter and harmful chemicals. 4. aerobic biological treatment of effluent

Extracting Copper

The Earth’s resources of metal ores are New ways of extracting copper from low-grade ores include
limited. Copper ores are becoming scarce phytomining, and bioleaching can be used.

Phytomining uses plants to absorb metal compounds from the soil. The plants are harvested and then burned to
produce ash that contains the metal compounds.
Bioleaching uses bacteria to produce leachate solutions that contain metal compounds.
The metal compounds formed in phytomining and bioleaching can be processed to obtain the metal.
• The metal compounds are reacted with acid to produce solutions of copper compounds.
• The solutions of metal compounds are reacted with scrap iron (in a displacement reaction) to produce copper.
Equation for displacement reaction using scrap iron: Fe + CuSO 4  Cu + FeSO4
The copper can also be extracted from the solutions of copper compounds by electrolysis

Advantages of these methods

Disadvantages of these methods
• need less energy than traditional methods
• Reactions slow to carry out.
• can extract from low grade/ concentration ores
• Land not available
• mining not required
• Will produce small amounts of metal
• avoid the disadvantages of traditional mining methods of
digging, moving and disposing of large amounts of rock.

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs)

Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) are carried out to assess the environmental impact of products in each of
these stages:
• extracting and processing raw materials
• manufacturing and packaging
• use and operation during its lifetime
• disposal at the end of its useful life, including transport and distribution at each stage.
Energy, water, resource consumption and production of some wastes can be fairly easily quantified.
Allocating numerical values to pollutant effects is less straightforward and requires value judgements, so LCA is not a
purely objective process.
Selective or abbreviated LCAs can be devised to evaluate a product but these can be misused to reach pre-determined
conclusions, e.g. in support of claims for advertising purposes

Questions on LCAs will generally involve using data given in a table. Use the data given and combine
with your knowledge about areas like pollution and waste

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Ways of reducing the use of resources
The reduction in use, reuse and recycling of materials by end users reduces the use of limited resources,
energy consumption, waste and environmental impacts.
Metals, glass, building materials, clay ceramics and most plastics are produced from limited raw materials.
Much of the energy used in the processes comes from limited resources. Obtaining raw materials from the
Earth by quarrying and mining causes environmental impacts.

Reusing or recycling?
Some products, such as glass bottles, can be reused.
Other products cannot be reused and so are recycled for a different use. Glass bottles can be crushed and melted
to make different glass products.
Metals can be recycled by melting and recasting or reforming into different products.
The amount of separation required for recycling depends on the material and the properties required of the final
product. For example, some scrap steel can be added to iron from a blast furnace to reduce the amount of iron
that needs to be extracted from iron ore.

Advantages of recycling:
 less acid rain (pollution)
 metal ore reserves last longer / conserved
 energy for extraction saved
 less mining / quarrying
 less waste
 less landfill
 creates local employment
Disadvantages of recycling
 collection problems
 transport problems/ cost of transport
 difficult to separate metal from appliances/sort

Corrosion and its prevention Chemistry only

Corrosion is the destruction of materials by chemical reactions Rusting is an example of corrosion. Both air and
with substances in the environment. water are necessary for iron to rust. The iron forms
rust which is hydrated iron oxide, which flakes off
allowing more iron to corrode
Preventing Corrosion iron + oxygen + water  hydrated iron oxide
Corrosion can be prevented by applying a coating that acts as
a barrier, such as greasing, painting or electroplating. These Aluminium has an oxide coating that protects
methods stop the air or water coming into contact with the the metal from further corrosion.
metal.

Sacrificial protection
Some coatings are reactive and may contain corrosion inhibitors or a more reactive metal.
If two metals are in contact the more reactive metal will corrode instead of the less reactive one.

Zinc is used to galvanise iron and when scratched provides sacrificial protection because zinc is more reactive than iron.
(When the zinc reacts the zinc oxide tends to stick to its surface and does not flake off)

Magnesium blocks can be attached to steel ships to provide sacrificial protection. The magnesium blocks can be replaced
from time to time which is cheaper than replacing the steel on the ships.

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Alloys as useful materials Chemistry only

Most metals in everyday use are alloys. Pure copper, gold, iron Pure metals have a regular arrangement of
and aluminium are too soft for many uses and so are mixed atoms, with layers that can slide over each other,
with other metals to make them harder for everyday use. and so are soft and easily shaped, but generally
are too soft for many uses.
Alloys are mixtures of different metals
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc used to
Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin and is used to make water taps and door fittings.
make statues and decorative objects.

Aluminium-magnesium alloys are low density and Gold used as jewellery is usually an alloy with silver,
used in aerospace manufacturing copper and zinc

The proportion of gold in the alloy is measured in carats,

Steels are alloys of iron that contain specific amounts
with pure gold being 24 carat. 18 carat gold is 75% gold.
of carbon and other metals. High carbon steel is
strong but brittle. Low carbon steel is softer and more
easily shaped. Alloys can be designed to have properties for specific uses.
Low carbon steels are easily shaped (used in car bodies/
Steels containing chromium and nickel (stainless reinforcing concrete), high carbon steels are hard, and
steels) are hard and resistant to corrosion. stainless steels are resistant to corrosion (used in cutlery).

Properties of Polymers Chemistry only

Different polymers have different properties
Thermosoftening and Thermosetting Polymers
The properties of polymers depend on what monomers they
are made from and the conditions under which they are made. Thermosetting polymers do not melt on heating.
For example, low density (LD) and high density (HD) The polymer molecules are linked to each other by
poly(ethene) are produced from ethene, using different strong cross-links.
catalysts and reaction conditions.
Thermosoftening polymers soften easily on
heating and can then be remoulded, keeping the
new shape on cooling. The polymer molecules are
attracted to each other by weak intermolecular
forces of attraction.

Ceramics and Composites

Glass Chemistry only

Most of the glass we use is soda-lime glass, made by heating a
mixture of sand, sodium carbonate and limestone.
Clay ceramics, including pottery and bricks,
Borosilicate glass, made from sand and boron trioxide, melts
are made by shaping wet clay and then
at higher temperatures than soda-lime glass.
heating in a furnace.

Composites
Most composites are made of two materials, a matrix or
binder surrounding and binding together fibres or fragments
of the other material, which is called the reinforcement.
Examples of composites include reinforced concrete (fibre=
steel bar, matrix= concrete) and carbon fibre composites.

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 Haber Process Chemistry only

The Haber process is used to manufacture ammonia, The raw materials for the Haber process are nitrogen and
which can be used to produce nitrogen-based hydrogen. Nitrogen is obtained from the air and hydrogen may
fertilisers. be obtained from natural gas or other sources.

The purified gases are passed over a catalyst of iron at a high The reaction conditions are chosen to produce a
temperature (about 450°C) and a high pressure (about 200 reasonable yield of ammonia quickly.
atmospheres). Some of the hydrogen and nitrogen reacts to The effect of temperature and pressure on yield and
form ammonia. the rate of reaction are important when determining
N2 + 3 H2 ⇌ 2NH3 the optimum conditions in industrial processes,
The reaction is reversible so ammonia breaks down again into including the Haber process.
nitrogen and hydrogen:

See chapter 4.6 for explanations of how

On cooling, the ammonia liquefies and is removed. temperature and pressure change yield and
The remaining hydrogen and nitrogen is re-cycled. rate of reaction

For the Haber process

• An optimum temperature of 450OC is used. Using a lower temperature would give a higher yield but the rate would
be too slow
• A pressure of 200atm is used. Using a higher pressure would give a higher yield but would be too expensive
because the cost of energy to produce the pressure would be high.
• The catalyst speeds up the rate of reaction and saves money by allowing a lower temperature to be used.
• The recycle saves money because no raw materials are wasted.

Chemistry only
Production and uses of NPK Fertilisers

Compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are Industrial production of NPK fertilisers can be achieved
used as fertilisers to improve agricultural productivity. using a variety of raw materials in several integrated
NPK fertilisers contain compounds of all three elements. processes. NPK fertilisers are formulations of various salts
containing appropriate percentages of the elements.

Ammonia can be used to manufacture ammonium

salts and nitric acid.
2NH3 + H2SO4  (NH4)2SO4 Potassium chloride, potassium sulfate and phosphate
Ammonia + sulfuric acid  ammonium sulfate rock are obtained by mining. Phosphate rock cannot be
NH3 + HNO3  NH4NO3 used directly as a fertiliser because it is insoluble in
Ammonia + nitric acid  ammonium nitrate
water.

Phosphate rock is treated with nitric acid or sulfuric acid to produce soluble salts that can be
used as fertilisers.

• Phosphate rock is reacted with nitric acid to produce phosphoric acid and calcium
nitrate.
• Phosphate rock can be reacted with sulfuric acid to produce single superphosphate
which is a mixture of calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate
• Phosphate rock can be reacted with phosphoric acid to produce triple superphosphate
which is calcium phosphate.

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